My 7 year old son recently reached a nice reading goal at school, and I rewarded him by renting Star Wars for him. I have never seen such gratitude from my son, who leaped onto me while thanking me profusely. Now, those that know me know that I am absolutely no fan of George Lucas. In fact, I could be characterized at times as actively hostile. However, I refrained from poisoning my son's opinion, and let him and his sister watch it. It's really been great to see them enjoying it. They know of Anakin Skywalker and know that he's Luke's father, and they know that Darth Vader killed Anakin...but they don't KNOW. I'm going to get ESB very soon so that none of their friends spoil it for them. My son is currently in his room, playing the Star Wars theme on his stereo too loudly and singing along with it (dunh dunh dunh duuuuuunh duuunh, dunh dunh dunh DUUUUUUUNH duuunh...) and laying in the floor playing with my old old Star Wars figures...from when I was just about his age... Anyway, it's not that I can't enjoy playing with Star Wars figures, too.
Here are the 5150 rules for Star Wars I wrote up with input from my buddy Mik. It's mostly from ANH and ESB as those are the figures I have. I'd love to have any additions you come up with, as I probably won't stat up anymore than this since this covers most of my figures. After watching Clone Wars, though, I could see myself getting clone trooper and droid forces down the line... Anyway, you can see some pictures here of some playtest games Mik and I played.
IMPERIALS (Star Army QRS):
Stormtroopers:
Leader: 1-4 Rep 4, 5-6 Rep 5
Squad: 1-2 Rep 3, 3-6 Rep 4
Equip: Hard Body Armor, Laser Carbines/RF Laser Rifles, thermal detanators
Skills: All Stormtroopers are Crappy Shots.
Imperial Stars:
Darth Vader
Rep 6
Equip: HBA, Lightsabre
Skills: Terrifying (1d6 melee, charge tests; FM target), Wary (+1d6 In Sight), Resiliant (1st OOF => KD), Nerves of Steel (No Fear), Hard as Nails (1st OD => KD), Knifeman (+1d6 w/ LS), Combat Artist (!< 1d6), Born Leader (all 2" do as he does)
Greedo/Mos Eisley Thug
Rep 4 (1 Rep 2, 2-4 Rep 3, 5-6 Rep 4)
Equip: SBA, Laser Pistol
Skills: Crappy Shot (-1 rep when firing), Coward (treat duck back as hunker down), Wuss (roll only 1d6 for rally, charge/being charged tests)
IG-88
Rep 5
Equip: HBA, Laser Pistol, Laser Rifle, Thermal Detanotor
Skills: Ambidextrous (no penalty for two weapons), Nerves of Steel (No Fear)
Bossk
Rep 5
Equip: SBA, Laser Carbine
Skills: Pyscho (Must fast move and fire towards enemy who has Fear, Hard as Nails [1st OD => KD], Nerves of Steel [No Fear])
Dengar
Rep 5
Equip: SBA, Laser Carbine
Skills: Nerves of Steel (No Fear), Cold as Ice (Never Outgunned)
4-LOM
Rep 5
Equip: HBA, Laser Carbine
Skills: Fast (+2" Movement), Stealthy (cannot be seen >12" if motionless in cover. Multiple dice ranged weapons -1d6 to min 1)
Boba Fett
Rep 5
Equip: HBA, Laser Carbine, Laser Pistol, Flamethrower, Vibro blades, Jet Pack
Skills: Crackshot (+1 1st shot), Brawler (3k2), Combat Artist (!<1d6), Resiliant (1st OOF => KD), Nerves of Steel (No Fear), Hard as Nails (1st OD => KD), Wary (+1d6 In Sight)
REBEL REPUBLIC (PDF QRS):
Rebels:
Leader: 1-2 Rep 3, 3-5 Rep 4, 5 Rep 5
Squad: 1-4 Rep 3, 5-6 Rep 4
Equip: Soft Body Armor, Laser pistolCarbines/RF Laser Rifles
Rebel Stars:
Luke Skywalker
Rep 4
Equip: SBA, Laser Carbine
Skills: Agile (no Fast Move mod), Resiliant (1st OOF => KD)
Princess Leia
Rep 4
Equip: SBA, Laser Pistol
Skills: Born Leader (all 2" do as she does), Runt (-1 Rep in melee), Stealthy (cannot be seen >12" if motionless in cover. Multiple dice ranged weapons -1d6 to min 1)
Han Solo
Rep 5
Equip: SBA, RF Laser Pistol
Skills: Crackshot (+1 1st shot), Wary (+1d6 In Sight)
Chewbacca
Rep 5
Equip: SBA, Laser Carbine
Skills: Brawler (3k2), Combat Artist (!< 1d6)
R2D2
Rep 4
Equip: HBA
Skills: Slow (-2" move), Cold as Ice (never outgunned)
C3P0
Rep 4
Equip: HBA
Skills: Slow (-2" move)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Rep 6
Equip: SBA, Lightsabre
Skills: Wary (+1d6 In Sight), Resiliant (1st OOF => KD), Nerves of Steel (No Fear), Hard as Nails (1st OD => KD), Knifeman (+1d6 w/ LS), Born Leader (all 2" do as he does)
WEAPONS
Basic Weapon Range Targets SB HB AB REF DIS SHIM EXO BTA
Imp. Blaster 24 2 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
Imp. Rifle 48 3 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
Reb. Blaster 18 2 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
Reb. Rifle 36 3 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
Laser Carbine 24 2 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
Laser Pistol 12 1 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1
RF Las. Pistol 12 2 4 3 Sp Sp Sp 4 2 1Melee Weapon Range Targets None SB HB AB REF DIS SHIM EXO BTA
Unarmed X 1 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 NE NE
Lightsabre X 1 6 5 4 5 5 5 5 3 2
Vibroblade X 1 4 3 1 1 3 4 1 NE NE
Jet Pack: Characters with a Jet Pack may, instead of moving normally, make an aerial move of up to 12". The character counts as Fast Moving.
Jedi Defense: Jedi are consider to have Jedi Defense in their ability to block and deflect shots with their lightsabre. Whenever a shot hits a Jedi, roll a d6. On 1-Rep, the shot is blocked and there is no further affect. In addition, Rep 5 Jedi may deflect the shot back at the attacker (out to 12") at -1 Rep, and Rep 6+ Jedi may deflect the shot at anyone (out to 12") at -1 Rep. If Rep 6+ Jedi do not have their lightsabre, they may still block shots but may not deflect shots. Yes, this means you can not shoot a Rep 6+ Jedi. If the Jedi fails to block the shot, roll as normal for whatever type of armor he is wearing (usually, SBA)
Jedi Force Push: May attack any person or object within 12". Roll a 2d6 vs. the Jedi's Rep and consult the Jedi Force Push Table:
Jedi Force Push modifiers:
Rep - 1: Target is object larger than Jedi (machinery, etc...)
Rep - 2: Target is object much larger than Jedi (X-Wing, etc...)Jedi Force Push Table:
Pass 2d6: Target knocked back (see distance table) and knocked down.
Pass 1d6: If Target's Rep is less than Jedi's, target is knocked
back (see distance table) and knocked down; otherwise,
no effect. If target is an object is larger than the
Jedi, no effect; otherwise, object is knocked back d6"
and knocked down, if applicable.
Pass 0d6: No effect.Jedi Force Push Distance Table:
Tiny Object (blaster, lightsabre, etc...): 12"
Small Object (Astromech droid, etc...): 10"
Medium Object (Humans, Wookie, etc...): 6"
Large Object (Speeder, large machinery, etc...): 4"
Very Large Object (X-Wing, etc...): 2"
If the object being pushed is another Jedi, the target Jedi may oppose the push. Both Jedi roll 2d6 vs. their Rep.
Opposed Jedi Push Table:
Wins by 2d6: Other Jedi pushed as normal.
Wins by 1d6: Other Jedi pushed half distance, not knocked down.
Wins by 0d6: No effect.
If the object strikes a model, make a Melee attack at Rep 2 for tiny, Rep 3 for Small, Rep 4 for Medium, Rep 5 for Large and Rep 6 for Very Large. The object passes directly through the target model whichever one wins melee. The object may only attack a single model.
Jedi Save: If a Jedi is forced over an edge, roll on the Jedi save table to see if they can grab the edge at the last minute.
Jedi Save Table:
Pass 2d6: Grabs edge and flips back up. Place standing at edge.
Pass 1d6: Grabs ledge but is hanging by a hand. Counts as prone.
Pass 0d6: Unable to grab the ledge.
Falling damage: Treat as a melee attack with an Impact of the distance fallen -2. For example, a character falling seven inches would roll on the Melee Damage table as though they had been struck by an Impact 5 weapon. Rep 6+ Jedi take no damage from falling any distance.
Jedi Leap: Jedi may leap Rep inches in a straight line in any direction.
Here are some pictures from our 5150 Star Wars games last night. We're working on some rules we'll put out soon.
Game one, with the Rebels with just pistols, which I was assured was correct but which left the Rebels hideously outgunned (12" range vs. 24" for the Stormtroopers meant just about any time the Rebels were shot at, they Ducked Back). The Stars, since they couldn't really get any supporting fire, just got creamed in a two way crossfire.
In the second game, we gave the Rebels a 24" range (although I think we'll just do custom weapons and give them an 18" range). It went much better. We also closed down a couple of very open fire lanes. The Rebels were able to keep the Stormtroopers heads down (making a squad run away in the first turn and flee the table on their Recovery attempt!) The stormtroopes just didn't have much luck this game...one tried to throw a thermal detanator around a corner, fumbled it, and Obviously Deaded his squad leader!
Really, if we were able to look at the sales across all the pre-painted manufacturers, they may well dominate already, and here's why. For just over $100.00, I bought a substantial amount of figures, had them shipped to me, and will be running a game with them tomorrow. From purchase to play in about a week for about $1.00 a figure. You just can not beat that. I don't think they're going to drive the unpainted market out of business, as it certainly does not provide the same feeling of accomplishment or enjoyment that I get from painting and creating. However, considering it would have taken me, realistically, two years to have painted all these by myself, assuming I even finished, it opens up areas of marginal interest, like Star Wars for me. I would never have devoted the amount of time it would have taken to paint all these figures up, I'm just not that interested in Star Wars. But, hey, if $115.00 buys me enough figures to sit down and play with my son and my friends, who like Star Wars more than me, well, I'm going to do that.
I'll be running a 5150 game with these tonight. It probably will be an Imperial ambush. Leia et al. start in the middle and have to exit off either "short" edge. Imperials start on the short edges. On activation rolls of 7, reinforcements for the Imperials show up-- probably bounty hunters or even Darth Vader. I'm working up some 5150 rules for Star Wars, I'll post them here when they're done.
I really need to work on some terrain. That table just looks sad...
I bought some more Star Wars singles (PRE 10/1, of course) from Dragon Justice. They had good prices, cheap shipping and great service. Recommended.
There very inspirational pictures were part of an eBay auction a couple of years ago. A buddy turned out to have saved them, with the name of Mos Abra. It is a very creative and well assembled "Mos Eisley"-style Tatooine town done almost completely out of styrofoam packaging material.
Please note that I do not own the copyright on these pictures, and will remove them at the owner's request.